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Super Hornet kojeg je oborio Getizburg je tog dana leteo nekoliko misija kao tanker za ostale F-18 koji su bili u ulozi PVO flote obarajuci dronove. Piloti su primetili lansiranje sa Getizburga i videli da raketa SM-2 ide ka njima, iskocili su par sekundi pre udara rakete u avion. Druga raketa je bila lansirana u pravcu drugog aviona a posada je krenula u poniranje izbegavajuci raketu.
Citat:According to the account, the F/A-18F was flying as a tanker and refueled the aircraft which were launched for that night’s strikes against the Houthis. After completing the task, the aircraft landed back on the carrier to refuel before launching again to support the aircraft performing Defensive Counter Air to protect the Carrier Strike Group (CSG).
Once again, the Super Hornet landed to refuel and waited on deck as the strike package recovered. After waiting for the first DCA aircraft to land, the tanker was launched again. Once airborne, drones were reported in the area and the pilot committed to engage them together with the two aircraft still on DCA task.
At the end of the engagement, the mishap Super Hornet refueled the other two aircraft and they all got cleared to return to the carrier. They were instructed to avoid the cruiser and destroyers by 15 miles.
As they were descending towards the carrier, the pilot and WSO saw a missile being launched by the USS Gettysburg, thinking it was engaging a drone. However, also reminding lectures by the Naval Fighter Weapons School’s (also known as Topgun) instructors, they soon realized the missile was targeting them as it was making corrections to go pure pursuit, pointing straight at them.
With the SM-2’s rocket motor still firing, they decided to eject a few seconds before they were hit. Then the pilot describes the ejection and its aftermath, being able to contact the Search and Rescue after solving some issues and still incredulous they were shot down by friendly fire.
While the authenticity of this account has not been officially confirmed, many of the details coincide with what has been disclosed so far by officials. Subsequently, another account emerged online, this time apparently from one of the pilots which were flying DCA when the incident happened.
The pilot mentions being launched to provide DCA for a strike, but it’s unclear if this is a reference to the strike package on its way to Yemen. The account then continues mentioning that a drone was shot down by the formation leader, before they returned to the carrier, refueled, launched again and shot down another drone.
At 02:30 Local Time the two aircraft on Combat Air Patrol and the tanker were cleared to return to the carrier. The three aircraft set up the approach, spacing five miles apart with the tanker being the first to recover. The pilot mentioning “us” referring to his own plane could imply that the other two aircraft were also F/A-18Fs.
As the aircraft were 20 miles from the carrier, the Gettysburg, which was trailing ten miles behind the USS Truman, fired the SM-2. The second pilot, as the one shot down, initially thought the missile was being launched at a drone, before realizing it was targeting the tanker.
The pilot continues recounting that the crew of the F/A-18F ejected just three seconds before their aircraft was hit by the missile. As the two remaining aircraft launched a mayday call over radio, alerting everyone about the friendly fire incident, another missile departed the USS Gettysburg.
The pilot started performing defensive maneuvers, with the aircraft descending and accelerating as quickly as possible. As they ‘fenced out’ earlier, making the aircraft safe for recovery, the pilot says they did not have countermeasures available for immediate use.
When the missile reached the apex of its trajectory before descending, the pilot started thinking about bailing out of the aircraft, but then the missile’s rocket motor seemingly burned out. Three seconds later, the missile passed within 100 feet to the left of the jet and exploded on the surface of the sea.
According to the account, the Air Wing Landing Signal Officer (“CAG paddles”) notified the Captain of the USS Truman about the friendly fire incident that just happened. In turn, the Captain then immediately ordered all ships to abort any missile they launched.
[Link mogu videti samo ulogovani korisnici]
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photo by Staff Sgt. William Rosado
